THE VISITORS’ TEA
When Ugly had got a good way up, he looked down and saw the tea tray. “I
know a better game than this!” he cried and got down as quickly as he
could. “All this exercise makes me thirsty, and I spy some milk.”
“Hurrah, for a feed!” cried Pussy and Pet, and they too struggled down.
Pussy fell the last bit of the way, but it didn’t seem to hurt her and
she was soon on the table with the others.
They were all a little disappointed, however, for the tray was not as
good as it promised. All they could get at was the sugar, and kittens
don’t care a bit for that. The milk seemed out of their reach for the jug
it was in was so small that not even Ugly could get his lean head into
it. Pet was feeling very sad, for she did so love milk, and there seemed
no way of getting any. However, Pussy had a splendid idea: she pushed
the jug over with her paw and out ran the milk on the tray and all the
kittens had to do was to lap it up.
“And why didn’t Tompkins and Minette come and have some milk, too?”
you ask, and I should like to be able to tell you it was because they
were such superior, well-brought-up and honest little kittens that they
scorned the idea of stealing, but I am afraid this wouldn’t be true. No,
the reason the two little Persians didn’t come to share the milk with the
kitchen kittens was because they were still up the curtains.
[Illustration: She pushed the jug over with her paw.]
It was not very difficult for them to climb up, but coming down was quite
another thing. When they looked down it frightened them and they were so
afraid of falling that they didn’t like letting go to dig their claws in
a fresh place lower down. So there they hung, crying pitifully, “Help,
help, help,” which sounded like “Miaou, miaou, miaou.”